Jackson Kuria Kihara alias Cop Shakur has left the Kenya Prison Service (KPS) as a warden after he was recently fired.

Kihara took to his X platform to announce that he had been fired by KPS, news that was received with mixed reactions from Kenyans, with some saying he had it coming while others supported him.

"They fired me instead of accepting my resignation," he said.

I have officially been Dismissed from the Kenya Prison Service.

Am working with my Lawyer to sue the Government. pic.twitter.com/2DNX5rijQb - Cop Shakur (@copshakur) May 27, 2025

Kihara told Saturday Standard that prior to his firing, he had submitted his resignation three times, but KPS had 'refused' to accept it.

"I shared some of my resignations physically and via email, but they [KPS] never responded."

Kihara said that he was working with his lawyers to sue KPS for wrongful dismissal and to be compensated.

The former warden said that he resigned from KPS because of intimidation by his bosses, citing one of them, who he accused of locking him up to prevent him from going to lunch and breaks.

He adds that his bosses denied him the chance to go on his off days as well as leave.

Before his firing, Kihara said he had been working at the Ruiru Prison, and his involvement as an active citizen saw his transfer to the Kamiti Maximum Prison.

He says that he had been locked up at Kamiti and was denied access to the outside world, where he says he felt like the prisoners he was guarding.

At Kamiti, Kihara says that he was in the sports department, and soon after, he was transferred to Marimanti Prison in Tharaka Nithi County, where he worked briefly.

He cites the frequent transfers as a way of punishment, saying that KPS had tried everything to dissuade him from his activism.

Kihara was then transferred to the Bungoma Prison, where he says intimidation from his bosses at KPS increased, and he wrote his resignation, which was not accepted, and he was instead fired.

"Later, I was served with a dismissal letter. I filed an appeal, but I never received any response," he posted on his X account.

He rose to prominence during the 2024 Gen Z protests that swept over the country due to his criticism of the government that he served.

Using his Cop Shakur accounts on social media, Kihara went at the Kenya Kwanza administration over its reaction to the protests as well as the policies it was implementing.

He also criticised fellow disciplined forces over their response to the demos and was spotted several times participating in the demos.

Kihara always criticised President William Ruto over his speeches as well as the moves his Kenya Kwanza administration was making, saying most it not all were not meant to benefit Kenyans.

He told Saturday Standard of an incident where he was assaulted by his colleagues after he refused to give his phone password to his bosses, who wanted to access it.

In March 2025, he says that he was arrested in Naivasha, Nakuru County, after authorities claimed that they found him with a toy gun.

He was detained as police sought more time to probe the incident to determine if the toy gun had been assembled with the intent of being used as a bona fide gun.

His lawyers at the time condemned Kihara's detention, saying that he was not taken to court as required by law.

When he was finally arraigned in court, Kihara came dressed in a t-shirt bearing the image of the late Jacob Juma, who was a known government critic and was shot dead along Ngong road in May 2016.

Kihara has also made known his plan to unseat National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wa.

"I thank God that I now have the time and freedom to contribute to shaping the nation. I've started by helping in the collection of signatures to recall the Member of Parliament for Kikuyu," posted Kihara on his X a day after announcing that he had been fired.